ARTS & CULTURE

You can feel the pulse of a city through its arts and entertainment and, as British Columbia's capital city, Victoria is alive with culture. Victoria and Vancouver Island boast a year-round schedule of cultural entertainment bursting with talent. Victoria and Vancouver Island are home to numerous art galleries, exhibits and studios. Salt Spring Island and the Gulf Islands are also world-renowned as creative centres. You can walk from gallery to gallery in Victoria's downtown core or drive the country roads to visit artisans' studios. Paintings, prints, sculpture, glass, wood and pottery can all be found and the traditional art of the First Nations peoples is also prevalent throughout the Island.

The Royal British Columbia Museum
Discover the Royal British Columbia Museum and its famous First Peoples, Natural History and Modern History Galleries. Three-dimensional displays offer the senses a feast of the sights, smells and sounds of British Columbia. Walk through a rainforest, sit among aboriginal poles and stroll down the street to window-shop in Old Town. Meet with an archaeologist for a fascinating "behind the scenes" tour or schedule a "meet-the-experts" tour to learn more about the inner workings of the Museum.

The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria is one of Canada's finest art museums with a permanent collection of 15,000 objets d'art. The collection features art from Asia, Europe and North America with primary emphasis placed on Canada and Japan. The Gallery is housed in a combination of contemporary exhibition spaces and an historic 19th century mansion called Gyppeswick. Arrange for a curator to guide you in a review of the Asian Collection, which is one of the best in North America.

Sooke Studio Tours
Sooke Studio Tour Arts Collective offers a self-guided studio tour 25 miles west of Victoria, in Sooke. Studios must undergo a selection process to ensure that they are of a consistent standard and are comfortable for the public to visit and browse. Many studios put on unique displays, demonstrations, or bring in guest artists throughout the year. In addition, these studios and galleries promote local restaurants, bed and breakfast accommodations and other local artists, tours, and adventure tours. This group will come into the Sooke Harbour House to meet with your group.

Winchester Galleries
Winchester Galleries offers a wide diversity of original Canadian art both past and present to an expanding clientele of discriminating investors and collectors. Historical artists represented by Winchester Galleries include the Group of Seven, Goodridge Roberts, William Kurelek, Jack Shadbolt, Ann Savage, David Milne, F.S. Coburn, Clarence Gagnon, James Wilson Morrice, Walter J. Phillips, and Robert Pilot. Contemporary gallery artists include Joseph Plaskett, Molly Lamb Bobak, Fenwick Landsdowne, E.J. Hughes, Mary Pratt, Ann Kipling, Alan Wood, Toni Onley, William Perehudoff, Vicky Marshall, Sandra Meigs, Ric Evans, Claude Tousignant, and Marion Scott. Private showings can be arranged and information regarding private collections is available.

West End Gallery
The West End Gallery is known for discovering and presenting the finest examples from a broad spectrum of Canadian painting, one-of-a-kind sculpture and contemporary glass art. The gallery is a member of the Professional Art Dealers Association. Visitors are welcome to explore and select from a wide range of styles and prices, from emerging to established artists and to purchase with confidence.

John Adams
John Adams, one of Victoria's foremost historians and renowned storytellers offers a full range of exciting opportunities for you to discover the past in Victoria, British Columbia's beautiful capital. Select one of his ghost or history programs to suit your interests and schedule. Custom and group tours are his specialty. John also leads architectural walking tours.

Starfish Glassworks
Starfish Glassworks features the work of over 40 Canadian artists. The gallery is committed to educate the public about glass art through on-site demonstrations, educational displays and workshops. A working gallery allows visitors to observe glass blowers at their craft. The combination of professionally presented glass art with demonstrations of the glassblowing process has caught the attention of the media, resulting in numerous newspaper and magazine articles as well as several television and radio appearances. The Starfish Glassworks artists have been presented with prestigious awards.

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